Report: President Obama unaware of spying

President Barack Obama didn’t know about the NSA spying on foreign leaders for years, and he put an end to it when the administration found out about the program, according to a new report.

The monitoring of 35 world leaders’ communications was brought to light during an internal review of NSA programs this summer, an administration official told The Wall Street Journal. Obama halted the monitoring of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others immediately, and some remaining monitoring programs are being phased out, the official said.

Text Size

The disclosure that Merkel’s communications had been spied on upset European allies, especially the Germans, who are sending intelligence officials to the United States to discuss the NSA’s programs.

In response to the Journal’s report, the administration said it is reviewing its surveillance of foreign partners.

“Through this review, led by the White House, the United States is reviewing the way that we gather intelligence to ensure that we properly account for the security concerns of our citizens and allies and the privacy concerns that all people share, and to ensure that our intelligence resources most effectively support our foreign policy and national security objectives,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.